Mr. M J is a father of five (three sons and two daughters) from Qamishli, born in 1960. He was displaced from Duma and is the sole breadwinner. He also supports his mother, and currently resides in Qaddour Beik neighborhood in Qamishli at a house one of his friends lent him.

He used to work at a fast food restaurant, until his health started deteriorating and had to undergo an open-heart operation, which led him to quit his job.

After Mr. M J came with one of his friends the center to ask about the services provided by SSSD, he attended the Old-But-Gold sessions and talked about how he lost his main profession (Shawarma Chef), and how he couldn’t afford going back to his job. Once the session ended, the facilitator referred him to the SBG staff for them to guide him through the needed procedures to apply for a small business. Later on, he was visited by one of the ORV team to assess his situation.

And so, Mr. M J attended the Project Management Course and excelled at it. Later on, he met with the UNHCR and was granted the necessary funding to start his own project. Mr. M J saw this project as a way to get back to his job and city. He became stable and was able to secure a decent life for his family.   

Mr. M J is now getting his project’s revenue and is still attending the men's sessions. In the last session, he expressed his gratitude to the association by saying: “As one gets older, he feels like a burden. When I became unemployed, I started feeling old and waited to die…. Your help brought me back to life and brought back the respect of my existence… with you, I feel that I exist and matter…”

Some roads may be blocked, leaving us no choice but to change our course… Once we get lost, we need a hand that reaches out to us and makes us feel safe to start all over again… Let us be that hand to them and their families.